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The lead up to the summer holidays can go one of two ways - you are either excited to spend extra time with your little ones or you dread it because it falls to us to amuse them near enough every second of the day. I am still in the latter group, which could be because I also have two toddlers in toe so trying to find activities that appeal to one year olds all the way up to ten year olds can be tricky.
For me this year the lead up was actually a lot worse than the holiday itself. I was in full burnout and overwhelm mode before the holidays started and had been put on iron tablets for my low energy so I was worried I wouldn't be able to keep up with my active stepkids. I honestly don't know where the energy came from... probably the depths of the I-have-to-get-on-with-it ocean. Ian's project was also at a critical point which meant he was offshore for over half the holiday - Just our luck!
But I survived! And had fun! And I feel like my overwhelm has lessened - proof that a lot of the time the overthinking is worse than the task itself.
Anyways, I'm going to write about some things to do in summer so that if you ever feel stuck for ideas you can take some inspiration from here for the holidays. There is a bit of something for everyone here so take what you need and leave a comment below with your thoughts 😊
Caravanning
We managed to cram in three family caravan holidays, ranging from a weekend up to two weeks and each site did different things well. Our group had four caravans but we all chopped and changed when we arrived and left etc. We had 15 kids between us all so it was a great gathering and no matter where we were the kids had so much fun with their friends and cousins 🥰 Caravan holidays are next level fun when the kids all get together!
We started our tour at Aboyne Loch for a long weekend. We arrived on a Thursday and stayed for four nights. This site doesn't have holiday park entertainment but, as the name suggests, it sits on the edge of a Loch which you can pay a fee to go on with your own equipment which gives the kids plenty to do.
This caravan park has a lot of owned statics and the tourer pitches are dotted in and amongst the higgeldy-piggeldy maze of fixed caravans. I quite liked this idea as it felt more organic than most parks, more like you were wild camping than touring. The facilities were clean and in a cute log cabin type building which fit the natural landscape.
There was a wee play park for the kids but it was really old and I was worried my feral children would break something.
We were lucky enough to receive a paddleboard for our Christmas present last year so we took it out for its maiden voyage across the mossy Loch and the kids had a grand time flying around on it. We also managed to find a great deal on a double kayak on Amazon https://amzn.to/3Lc2SY8 and so we splashed out and purchased it as me and Ian never find deals like this!
We made the most of this caravan site but I do feel that it is maybe better suited to families with older kids or dare I say it - just adults. It was a lovely place and everyone was friendly but we were constantly on edge that the kids were being loud and worried they were too near other peoples homes. I don't think we will be returning to Aboyne Loch, at least not until my kids are grown and not as a large party of people either.
Aden was my absolute favourite this summer. We booked it last mintue (we were int he car on the way home from Aboyne when we decided we didn't want to go home and headed here instead. We arrived on the Monday and stayed until the Sunday and the woman that ran the site was THE BEST. Kim you are a star and really made our stay so enjoyable and we felt so welcome. Kim was on hand to help with everything from helping us set up to our mountains of dirty laundry.
We were lucky enough to get the pitch right next to the park which meant I could keep an eye on my kids from afar and enjoy a few beverages and adult conversation while feeling fully secure. After the strict curfews of Aboyne we were relieved to be somewhere where the kids thrived and could be themselves. Our kids are good, even when being feral they are considerate for the most part, so it was lovely to see them just being kids and having as much fun as they could on their holidays.
This park also didn't have entertainment but it is set within Aden Country Park with plenty to do to amuse the kids. We took them along to the absolutely massive play park which was just a short walk away and they played for hours most days.
I really felt this holiday at Aden was a proper chill out and reset. Something you most definately need during a caravan holiday as there is still so much to do as you are living in such a confined space.
After a week and a half break from the caravan we booked Silver Sands at Lossiemouth. We actually come back here almost every year but this year was the first year we had returned since it had been bought over. There are full park facilites and there is entertainment, swimming and kids clubs for the little ones.
There are quite a few new statics to rent as well which meant Nana, Gaga and GG could come to stay for a couple of nights too. Silver Sands is a short walk from a beautiful beach and we spent a lot of time there sunning ourselves. The weather was fantastic and the tan we all have could rival ones from abroad! We did have one day where an awesome thunderstorm passed over and flooded most of the site but the kids loved splashing and biking through the massive puddles without a care in the world.
Ian's sisters and bro-in-law were amazing at helping me navigate 5 kids by myself, especially when it came to swimming. I couldn't have managed my five by myself as the older 3 aren't confident swimmers and I have the 2 babies but we made it work and the kids were so happy. Use of the swimming pool is included in your rate so all you had to do was pop down in the morning and book your slots to use it, which we did - EVERY DAY! The kids were so chuffed.
This holiday will really stick in my head as a turning point for me. Ian had been called offshore again and I decided I would take the kids by myself and got it booked in. I had learnt how to do everything bar tow Clara the Caravan and I was determined to give the kids as much fun as possible. Their cousins were in Lossie at this time so the decision basically made itself. My brother in law very kindly towed the van up for us and the six of us embarked upon my solo mission 😆 I learned that I can do it all - I can do anything and give my kids the best memories while doing it solo also gave me more faith in myself and a proper confidence boost. Even when the storm came and flooded our awning I didn't let it get me down. I was more like my old self - a whizz-kid in a crisis and I sorted it and moved on and even laughed about it! It was nice to know the old Gini is still in there. She is slowly being encouraged back out again but this trip helped me recognise she is still in there, we are just trying to merge all the parts together.
PJ Movie days
A must do in any holiday! We had a few movie days where we stayed in our PJs and ate popcorn, sweeties and played board games and generally chilled out when the weather wasn't so nice. My kids favourite right now is MouseTrap! One thing that made my heart mega happy is that someone at their school had mentioned how amazing Harry Potter was to them and they came home at the start of the holidays wanting to watch them all! My inner geek and child came flying out and I honestly can't tell you who had more fun doing a Harry Potter marathon. They also highly recommend the following movies which we watched with duvets on the sofa: Paw Patrol, Spiderman, Abominable & Maleficent 1 & 2.
Sports
Our local council does something called Summer of Play where they run events that you can register the kids for at a reduced cost or for free. This is definately something to look into in your area in case your local council does something similar. I managed to book 6 days of Multisports where the kids go along for 3 hours with their pals and run around like mad fools. It's awesome coz by time they get picked up they are knackered! They even did one silent disco as something fun to dress up for. I highly recommend checking with your local council in case they are doing something similar.
One on One time
When Ian was home we managed to book some time to spend with the kids one on one, I won't go into too much detail here as I will be doing a post about it seperately so look out for that in the coming weeks, but the kids loved it and so did we.
Other
We did the other usual stuff like play dates and hangouts with friends. I even managed to squeeze in my first ever Ladies Day (kids free!) where I enjoyed getting dressed up. We enjoyed going to one of my close friend's birthday BBQ (another solo mission with 5 kids that I'm proud to say I did). We did minimal crafts this summer but my favourite was our Dandi-Lion where I cut out a face and holes and the kids threaded dandelions through them to make a mane. They were so chuffed with him. We also had crazy bath days full of face masks, bath paint and crayons, bubbles and bath bombs.
And that about sums it up! We had a fantastic summer, we missed Dad but Mama bossed it! The kids are settling back into their school routine and I'm dreading the start up of their homework cycle starting soon.
I hope you find some inspiration here for things to do in summer and I hope you had a good one too, either way I know you did your best and that is all that matters and as long as you are spending quality time with your kids it honestly doesn't matter what you are doing ♥️
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